''Cichla temensis'', the speckled pavon, speckled peacock bass, painted pavon, or three-barred peacock bass, is a very large South American

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...

, and a prized

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

and

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercia ...

. Reaching up to in length and in weight, it is the largest cichlid of the Americas, and perhaps the largest extant cichlid in the world, with only Tanganyika's

giant cichlid The giant cichlid (''Boulengerochromis microlepis''), also known as the emperor cichlid, is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae, endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa.Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wo ...

and Rio Negro basins, as well as several smaller rivers in the central

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

( Uatumã, Preto da Eva, Puraquequara, and

Tefé Tefé, known in early accounts as Teffé, is a municipality in the state of Amazonas, northern Brazil. Location Tefé is located about 525 km by air or 595 km by river to the west of Manaus on the south bank of the Rio Solimões (th ...

), in Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. In its native range, it is essentially restricted to

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea. ...

s and their tributaries.

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attempts have been made outside its native range, but it has not managed to become established in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In contrast, it has flourished in tropical

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Appearance

''C. temensis'' resembles other

peacock bass Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the genus ''Cichla''. These are diurnal predatory fishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical South America. They are someti ...

species, but is generally more elongated and slender in shape. Adults are highly variable in colour pattern, which has historically caused some problems, with some speculating that the variants were separate species or males/females. Only in 2012 was it firmly established that dark individuals with a dense light-speckled pattern are the nonbreeders, while breeding adults are more golden-

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

and lack the pale speckles, but have three broad, dark bars on their bodies. During the breeding season, some males also develop a bulbous forehead. Between the two extremes are several intermediate patterns. No other peacock bass species is known to have such extreme variations among the adults.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q150564 temensis Cichlid fish of South America Fish described in 1821 Taxa named by Alexander von Humboldt